Healthy High-Performance Construction & Contemporary Modern Design

Green Cabinetry…Austin Style!

Today I went over to an old cabinet shop in East Austin, called Green Award Custom Woodworking. This shop is over 4o years old and (to my knowledge) has always been used for making cabinets, only now..it makes green cabinets.

The owner Jeff Mitzal, a self described “recovering techy” bought the shop years back and kept almost everything just as it was when he bought the place..even the help. The only major change besides a new $20,000 edge banding machine (that eliminated the need for rubber cement..which is pretty toxic stuff), was a new and progressive attitude about the materials used in the making and finishing of his custom cabinets. Jeff’s bread and butter style “is European-Modern”, but these guys are capable of making anything you ask of them.

One specific that really stands out in my mind about Jeff’s cabinets, is how he incorporated the use of UV lights to finish the clear coats on the plywood that he would eventually use to make his cabinets. The light zapped the finish right on (drying instantly) without the release of any solvents/VOC’s or formaldehyde into the air (and ultimately the earth’s atmosphere)…pretty freakin cool if you ask me!!

Watch this video to find out more about Jeff and his “green cabinets.”